Admirals Fall in Overtime to Whale

HARTFORD, Conn. Igor Bobkov made 33 saves and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond scored his second goal of the season, but the Norfolk Admirals (21-24-3-1) saw former Admiral Brandon Segal score 2:08 into overtime as the Connecticut Whale (24-21-4-2) claimed a 2-1 decision on Saturday night at the XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Admirals have picked up standings points in all three games of their four-game road trip so far (2-0-1-0). Bobkov (10-14-0) has stopped 65 of 67 shots over his last two games.

The Admirals conclude their four-game road trip tomorrow afternoon against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. They return to Norfolk Scope Arena on Friday and Saturday against the Providence Bruins.

Norfolk took a 1-0 lead 15:42 into the first period. Sami Vatanen dumped the puck into the attacking zone along the right wing. Mat Clark passed it to Letourneau-Leblond in the right corner, and Letourneau-Leblond spun around from the bottom of the right circle while shooting the puck past Whale goaltender Cameron Talbot for his second goal of the season.

Connecticut tied the game at 1-1 late in the first period with a power play goal. Former Admirals defenseman Mike Vernace sent a centering feed to Logan Pyett in the high slot. Pyett sent a slap shot past Bobkov at 18:45.

Neither team scored for the remainder of regulation. In overtime, Norfolk’s Rod Pelley and Connecticut’s Kris Newbury were assessed coincidental roughing penalties, leading to three-on-three hockey. Nineteen seconds later, Segal took a pass from Sean Collins and scored 2:08 into overtime to give the Whale the 2-1 verdict.

Cameron Talbot (19-19-1) stopped 26 of 27 shots for the win.

Norfolk was 0-for-7 on the power play. Connecticut was 1-for-5.

The Admirals conclude a four-game road trip against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. All games can be heard on 102.1-FM, 1490-AM or 1021TheGame.com. You may also watch at AHLLive.com.

The Admirals return to Norfolk Scope Arena on Friday and Saturday against the Providence Bruins. Friday is Hall of Fame Night as Brian Martin and Marty Wilford will be inducted into the Admirals Hall of Fame in a pre-game ceremony. Please check norfolkadmirals.com for details.